Can Americans trust US health secretary RFK Jr for medical advice on vaccines? He says 'don't take...'

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, US health secretary, told lawmakers recently that Americans "should not be taking medical advice from me" when he was asked hypothetically if he would vaccinate his children today for measles during a House hearing. "My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant," he said in response to the question from Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin during the House Appropriations Committee hearing. "I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me."

The US health secretary came under fire who said he has made false statements over vaccine testing and safety since taking the nation's top health job, the report said.

Robert F Kennedy's bizarre remarks

“If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?” began the Democratic congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin at the House appropriations committee hearing.


“For measles? Um, probably for measles,” said Kennedy, in one of the few hesitations of the hearing. “What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant … I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.”

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The remarks were made in Kennedy's first appearance in Congress since his confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary in February. He faced a barrage of questions- from mass layoffs at federal health agencies to his handling of a worsening US measles outbreak.

Some of the most heated exchanges centered on his remarks on vaccines. Kennedy has for years sown doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, but pledged to maintain the country's existing vaccine standards to secure his appointment in the Trump administration.

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He also defended job cuts under the Donald Trump administration and his controversial vaccine remarks during his first appearance before Congress. Kennedy has drawn condemnation from health officials for what they say is a weak endorsement of measles shots during an outbreak that has infected more than 1,000, mostly unvaccinated, people and killed three.

He has also supported slashing $18 billion from the National Institutes of Health and $3.6 billion from the CDC, claiming the changes would “save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.” “Our reductions have focused on aligning HHS staffing levels to reflect the size of HHS prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw around a 15% increase in the number of employees,” Kennedy told the House subcommittee.

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The cuts and firings were his decision, not edicts from Elon Musk, Kennedy said when asked about the billionaire Trump ally's involvement. Musk is leading the DOGE initiative to cut government funding and reshape the federal bureaucracy.

"Elon Musk gave us help in trying and figuring out where there was fraud and abuse in the department," Kennedy testified. "But it was up to me to make the decision, and there are many instances where I pushed back."

Kennedy said he was willing to work with Democrats on lowering prescription drug prices in response to a question from Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who votes with Democrats. Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing drugmakers to lower their prices to align with what other countries pay that analysts and legal experts said would be difficult to implement.

(With inputs from Reuters)